The Scene

"Yo! MTV Raps" Hits the Air with First New Episode in 12 Years

Published on Monday, December 05 2011
Written by Super User

MTV takes it back again... This time, it's a revival of the network’s first hip-hop music show, “Yo! MTV Raps”. The show ran from 1988 until 1999 (with a title change in it’s last few years) and hosted major names of the day such as Naughty By Nature, Salt N Pepa, and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Despite warning that it might not go over well, the pilot episode was one of the highest rated shows on the network at that time, AKA an instant hit.

The revival last night was a 30-minute retrospective episode, following the Sucker Free Awards, that spent some time visiting three classic videos that made an impact on the hip-hop world. The chosen songs were: A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario”, Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day”, and the Geto Boys' “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”. Some older artists stopped by, as well as a couple newer ones, like Wiz Khalifa and Young Jeezy. There’s a huge loyalty displayed by artists returning to the show. The episode is a reminder that MTV has been one of the most important outlets for introducing new music styles to the masses, moving artists from a regional to national or worldwide level.

Will we see more? With the recent return of “Beavis & Butt-Head” and “120 Minutes” (and their success thus far), it’s clear the network is trying to take a diversion from the straight reality series thing they have going on and revisit their roots. With the outrageous popularity of the network’s shows like “Jersey Shore” and “Teen Mom”, it’s unlikely that we’ll see a total drop off of reality TV, but maybe a continued blend of show types will keep a bigger audience interested, as well as stay true to what MTV literally stands for. Keeping the shows fresh is of utmost importance to their staying power; with the ease of access to music on the internet these days, MTV will have to offer a unique experience to keep us watching. It seems to be working. 

 

- Kate Ferguson, YH Staff